Conditions and Info
Use of MountainViews is governed by
conditions.General information about the site is
here.Opinions in material here are not necessarily endorsed by MountainViews.
Hillwalking is a risk sport. Information in comments, walks or shared GPS tracks may not be accurate for example as regards safety or access permission. You are responsible for your safety and your permission to walk see
conditions.Credits and list definitions are listed here
Credits

Also known as Slieve Cor or Corslieve. The Discovery map links the name Corslieve with a neighbouring peak (541m) situated about 3 miles to the south, but the Ordnance Survey Name Book and William Bald's map of Mayo (1830) show quite clearly that it is simply an alternative for Slieve Carr, with the same elements inverted. A cairn on the summit is named Laghtdauhybaun on the old ½ inch map, but is unnamed on the Discovery map. This is probably derived from Ir. Leacht Dáithí Bháin, 'burial monument of white Dáithí'. There may be a connection with Dáithí, a king of Connacht and reputed last pagan high-king of Ireland (see Slieve Alp).
Slieve Carr is the second highest mountain in the North Mayo area and the 97th highest in Ireland.Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/94/?PHPSESSID=dlgakkc4q8oo1dh9cqmb62qb83

Picture from group : Slieve Carr from East showing steep quartzite scree slopes.

Picture: Slieve Carr from East showing steep quartzite scree slopes.

Challenging, remote, with great views.

Short Summary created by simon3, 23 Apr 2012

This summit may be the most remote and hard to get to of any in Ireland. It has considerable merit, having a magnificent 400m ridge on the summit, which has an enormous burial mound and great views of Achill and most of the Nephin Begs.
There are at least four approaches, from the East, West, North and South.

From East: Park at F 9759 1664A outside a sometimes locked gate. Ask permission at the house at F9657 1602B. Proceed along a forest track over a newish bridge into the forest. The track winds its way to a small lake at around F945145C . Head SSE along a fence to open ground. It is possible but dangerous to ascend directly to the summit from where you emerge. Better to contour to around F923132D and go up the SE ridge. Round trip will take 5 - 6 hours.

From West one way is to start at F85390 15197E where there is a footbridge. Ask permission of locals and in particular at the house that the bridge leads to and note that this is a sheep farm so dogs or large parties are most unlikely to be welcome. Walk east to the Bangor Trail and use it to get to the Tawnyanruddia spur. and then up the S ridge and spur of the summit.

From North walk South along the Bangor Trail from Bangor Erris to the Tawnyanruddia spur.

From South walk North along the Bangor Trail from where it meets the public road at around F977048F to the Tawnyanruddia spur. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/94/comment/4854/

Picture from wicklore : Isolation

Picture: Isolation

The little tin bothy

by wicklore 25 Aug 2010

Just like MV member Geo recently did, I also fulfilled a long held wish to climb Slieve Carr. Carr is widely held to be the most remote hill in Ireland, using a definition of being furthest away from roads, houses and people. The summit is about 14 kms from the nearest road along the Bangor Trail. The Trail is a 30km route that takes you through the area of near-wilderness of North Mayo in which Slieve Carr is situated. The Trail is little more than a guessing game at times as it passes through the most remote expanses of bog, and you need your wits about you when the bad weather closes in! The Trail skirts the SW slopes of Carr, and most people approach Carr from the north or south along it. Other hardy souls make a beeline from the west or east across vast expanses of bog or through kilometres of forest. This route is shorter, but equally challenging. It’s also possible to combine Slieve Carr with Nephin Beg.
Rather than going for a marathon 28km there-and-back hike in one day, I opted to stay overnight at a ‘tin bothy’ I had read about near the half way mark of the Trail. I planned to head to the bothy and sleep there after climbing Nephin and Carr. I started from the south and followed the Trail for several kms. This section is well marked, easily followed and a great warm up as you follow a river valley. Nephin Beg S Top is reached after about 4.5kms and I branched off the Trail to climb it. From here I continued on to the main Nephin Beg top. The views back to Glennamong and Corranabinnia were great in between the heavy rain showers.

After Nephin Beg there is a steep descent to the col with Slieve Carr. Carr presented as a hulking mass with steep sides from this angle. I had a heavy rucksack weighing 18-20 kilos. Because of this I was slowed down considerably and I was tired after several hours walking after an early start driving from Dublin. I decided to head straight for the tin bothy and attempt Carr the following morning. As I diverted back down onto the Bangor Trail in the vast bog below I dreamed of a comfortable, warm bothy, with a fireplace and furniture. I wearily reached the tin bothy an hour from Nephin Beg, my rucksack getting heavier in the trudge through the bog. As I reached the bothy I was presented with the sight of a ramshackle tin box with a hole in the roof and broken plywood floor. As I stepped inside the 7 x 9 foot box the floor cracked further as it was soaked from the rain coming in the open door and broken roof. I made the most of it and had a surprisingly comfortable night, enjoying the absolute silence of this most remote of Irish places.

Carr was climbed the next day and it was a surprisingly ordinary mountain, with boggy peat hags, small rock fields and a massive cairn. Someone called ‘Neary’ proclaimed his visit to the hill in 2010 by scrawling his name on top of the summit Trig Pillar. Remote in many ways Carr may be, but sadly still subject to graffiti. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/94/comment/6053/

Your Score: Very useful << >>Average

Picture from wicklore : A sense of scale

Picture: A sense of scale

This is really remote!

by wicklore 25 Aug 2010

This view shows the vast Owenduff Valley stretching off into the distance to the southwest of Slieve Carr. I have marked the tiny bothy set amidst the massive plain. It is several hours hike to the nearest house, and for absolute quiet and solitude it’s a highly recommended place to go. However the bothy is in poor repair so bring a tent or a waterproof bivvy bag! Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/94/comment/6054/

I have yet to make my way to Slieve Carr in remotest Nephin Beg, although I have looked longingly in that direction from Corraunabinnia and adjacent peaks.The Nephin Begs are very special, and this lovely film by Sharron Schwartz and Martin Critchley is an important addition to our body of knowledge as we prepare to head into this wilderness. I like the gritty realism of the piece. All the usual suspects are there: drizzle, squelching bogs and low cloud. But there is also the moment of redemption, the magic moment known only too well to the Irish walker...as the clouds part, and the awesome vista of the western edge of Europe hangs briefly in front of you. Highly recommended Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/94/comment/6388/

Your Score: Very useful << >>Average

Picture from simon3 : From here it is around 4.5km to the summit.

Picture: From here it is around 4.5km to the summit.

Easier ascent up a green carpet.

by simon3 23 Apr 2012

Having read the dire descriptions of trips up Slieve Carr ("14kms from nearest road", "staying at tin bothy", "accumulated height gain is 1266m") we decided on an easterly approach. We found one way up but realised it could be improved, so the route described here is not what we did but what we suggest.

Park at F 9759 1664A outside a sometimes locked gate. Ask permission at the house at F9657 1602B. Proceed along a forest track over a newish bridge into the forest. The track winds its way to a small lake at around F945145C. Head SSE along a fence to open ground.

It is possible but dangerous to ascend directly to the summit from here. Hazards include very high slope and unstable quartzite scree. A preferable route is to contour from the previously mentioned point of emergence from the forest to around F923123G which is the start of a comparatively gentle ascent up a SE spur. Steep at first, this spur is carpeted with gorgeous green moss. Eventually the gradient drops and you find yourself on a magnificent ridge heading North to the summit. There is a huge cairn at the summit with a small wooden cross apparently commemorating an aircraft crash (or so we were told by a local).

The views on a good day are immense, from much of the Achill/Corraun peninsula to solitary Nephin to the east, by way of Nephin Beg to the south. Track 1545 show the prototype of this route. it took 6hours 20m for 18.7km, somewhat longer than necessary but way shorter than the routes using the Bangor Trail.

Viewing the ground and with the benefit of hindsight, there may well be other easterly routes available perhaps using the tracks in the more mature forest to the south of the route described. bryanmccabe mentions F936124H as one possible forest end. Remember however that the rivers and streams are not necessarily passable. Even in a dry period crossing the main north-south river would have been difficult without the bridge. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/94/comment/6782/

Your Score: Very useful << >>Average

Picture from Colin Murphy : It's a long way to...anywhere

Picture: It's a long way to...anywhere

The most remote cottage in Ireland?

by Colin Murphy 20 Oct 2014

On our approach to Slieve Carr we came across the ruins of the cottage in the picture at point 895 100I, which appears to be of pre-Famine vintage. There is no visible track approaching it and the nearest track of any description is at least 3km away. The nearest road is 7 km away, and back in the 19th century that was probably only a dirt road. One can only marvel at the ability of those people to eke out a living so far from any form of civilisation and on land that is pretty much worthless. The lower slopes of Slieve Carr did have plenty of evidence of 'lazy beds' - the method required to grow potatoes on poor soil, which involved laying the seed potato on the surface and folding a sod of turf over it. One can only assume this was the household's principal source of food, which of course vanished when the blight struck. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/94/comment/17731/